Forever
by TheOtherLachance
Summary: Promises left and forgotten


"Bella!" Bellatrix Black sat alone, in a large, stuffy bedroom. It was huge, but the towers of mess everywhere made it seem tiny. Shadows flitted over the walls from countless strange, unnamed objects, and you could scarce see the bed under mountains of clothes and books. Bellatrix wasn't sure if her cat, Capri, was still alive under all of the rubbish that littered her room. She had occasionally heard the odd "meow" in her room, under the piles of junk, but had never been bothered to help the animal. It had always been irritating to her, anyway.

"Bella!" the shouts came louder now, and Bellatrix could hear light footfall running up the stairs outside her room. Moodily, and with a flick of her wand, the door melted into the wall. Watching it disappear with some satisfaction, she flopped back onto the bed, letting her wild, black hair flow out onto her pillow. She stared at the ceiling, as she heard the dull thunk of bodies slamming into hard wall.

"Bellatrix Black, you open this door now!" the irritatingly high voice of Narcissa called out from behind the wall. Bellatrix, who was sulking and did not wish to be disturbed, pointed her wand at the door, and let sparks fly out of the end, smashing into the door with a loud crack. There was a high-pitched scream and a yell, as Bella, satisfied, heard her younger sister's retreat from the wall, cautiously. She relished in their fear.

Thirteen year old Bellatrix Lestrange was not as insane as her adult self. But she wasn't far off.

After a few moments of silence, Bellatrix heard a slow knock on the wall. It echoed around her dark room, and it sounded ominous, if anything. The silence, suddenly being interrupted, was quite scary, when you're alone in a dark, creepy room with shadows flying around like bats.

"Bella, let us in, it's only me and Cissy," said the low, calming, unmistakeable voice of Andromeda. "It's not _us_you're angry at; I know what mother and daddy said about you marrying that Lestrange boy. It isn't _our_fault."

Bellatrix let out a low growl at the memory. It made her want to SCREAM. That disgusting little Lestrange boy, with his ridiculous floppy hair, his buck teeth, and his annoying French accent... He'd fancied her at school, she'd rejected him cheerily, and he'd only gone crying to his parents, and his _daddy_had arranged for them to be married! The smug, sickening look on his face made her want to vomit. She slammed her fist hard into the mattress, pretending it was Lestrange's stupid face. Then she slumped back onto the bed, letting her feet dangle over the edge. She just didn't care if she looked "ridiculous and vulgar". Who was there to see her anyway?

Finally, after she'd realised (after seven knocks) that Meda and Cissy weren't about to go away, Bellatrix swore loudly, pointed her wand at the wall, and reanimated the door. She heard the latch click, and heard her sisters enter her room, and shut the door gently behind them. Bellatrix looked at them sarcastically under heavily-lidded eyes, and simply glared at them.

Narcissa was sitting at the foot of her bed, and was toying idly with a lock of her white-blonde hair. It was twisted in a corkscrew around her little finger, and she kept coiling and uncoiling it almost methodically. She looked immoral, as always. Bella's other sister, Andromeda, was leaning against a wall next to Bellatrix's head. Her hazel eyes were boring into Bellatrix's black ones.

"Bella, what the hell is going on?" Andromeda spoke out, not taking away her gaze from Bellatrix's dark eyes. Bellatrix looked away, and propped herself up against the headboard, taking care not to look at Andromeda. She always felt that her younger sister could read her mind in a way neither Narcissa, her parents, nor her friends at Hogwarts could. It was rather strange, actually.

"Oh nothing," Bellatrix's harsh, cool voice broke the long, cold silence that had begun after Andromeda's last comment. Her voice did not have an old English accent, like her sisters. It was hard, quite cockney, and she had a way of speaking that made you feel completely inferior. But it was her incredible beauty that made most people stare, not her voice. Bellatrix glanced coolly at Andromeda, before getting up, and starting to pace around the room. She never felt comfortable staying still for too long; it made her feel weak and odd. Vulnerable. "Of course, Meda, nothings wrong. I'm fine. All that's happened is that bitch we call mother and _him_," she spoke her father's name with complete disgust, not even addressing him properly, "have gone and engaged me to that prat Lestrange!" She balled up her fist and punched the wall. The crack her knuckles made helped her feel better, and she even felt slightly happy as she started to suck the blood off her hand. Narcissa got up from the bed, took Bella's hand, and began to stroke it, gently washing the blood off with a tissue. Bellatrix let her attend to her for a while but, getting bored, pushed Narcissa backwards and stomped off into a corner, letting her hair fall over her face. NOBODY understood her; it was so aggravating! Even her sister's "kindness" made her want to slap them until they screamed! Somehow, she just wanted a fight, even when most people needed comfort. Where most people needed a hug, Bellatrix needed a slap. It made her feel better to fight.

When Narcissa had fallen back, after Bella's push, she'd tripped over a pile of books, and had landed flat on her face. Her 9 year old instincts kicked in, and she began to cry. The tears had been falling down her face for only a moment, however, when she felt strong arms lift her up and hold her tight. She saw Andromeda watching from a corner, as Bellatrix held her little sister tight, and mopped away her tears with the back of her hand. When Narcissa had stopped crying, Bellatrix put her down, and edged away from her, as if being seen together was a crime. Bellatrix sat down moodily on the bed, and Andromeda went to sit next to her, Narcissa on the other side. They looked at each other.

"I don't see what you're fussing about, Bella, really," started Narcissa a little timidly. But when Bellatrix remained silent, she continued, "Lestrange isn't really _that_bad looking, even if he is a bit weird. At least it's a proper, pureblood marriage though. At least you didn't betray the family by getting married too... I don't know, a Mudblood or something." Andromeda laughed, and even Bella smirked slightly. But suddenly Narcissa frowned.

"Bellatrix," she said, frowning her pretty little eyebrows. "Are... Are you going to abandon us when you marry Lestrange? We might not be _us_anymore." Bellatrix looked sharply at Narcissa, who was to her right.

"What do you mean, _us_?"

But it was Andromeda who answered, not Narcissa.

"You know, us. The Black Sisters. Always together, never separated, remember? Like the old days?" Andromeda looked hopefully at her sisters, hoping for a little sentimentality. But Narcissa sat immoral as always, and Bellatrix just scowled. There was a moment of silence. "Bella?"

"The old days are dead. We live today, don't we?" Andromeda was startled by that. She looked at her elder sister in confusion, but Bella looked a little confused herself about what she'd just said. She frowned, and shut her heavily-lidded eyes. She held her hands up as if in prayer.

"What do you mean?"

"I... I..." Bellatrix was still looking at the floor, her beautiful face twisted. But then she relaxed, and looked up at her sisters. "I don't know how to explain it. I think Uncle Orion said it. Just quoting. I don't really know what he meant."

"So we will be together forever, right?" Narcissa's face betrayed a little hope, before settling into its usual non-committal stare. Bellatrix and Andromeda both laughed this time, before Bellatrix put an arm around both of her sisters and pulled them both too her. They nuzzled into her.

"Forever. I promise."

Bellatrix's funeral was like no other. It was not sumptuously grand, like most of the other members of her family. It was quiet, no priest was present, and only a black marble coffin stood at the front of a large hall containing a small amount of people:

There was Rodolphus, bound in chains, with two, burly looking aurors at his shoulder, glaring around suspiciously. He looked blank, having been subjected to the Dementors kiss.

There were the Malfoys, Lucius looking grumpy, Draco looking miserable, and Narcissa actively crying into her son's shoulder. Lucius did not want to be there. Draco and Narcissa mourned.

There was Bellatrix's mother, looking sombre but uncaring in a ridiculous long, black dress that highlighted her massive belly. She did not care.

There was Andromeda, looking impassive. She stood closest to the coffin. She did not know.

And finally, strangely, something happened. The back doors of the hall opened, and a small girl of around 13 entered the hall. She had long, scruffy, golden brown hair, dark, heavily lidded eyes, a square jaw, and pale skin. In fact, she drew the eye not only because of her late entrance, but also because of her strange resemblance to Bellatrix. She slunk into the room nonchalantly, but seeing the corpse of Bellatrix at the front of the room, ran towards the coffin. And, strangely, her feet never seemed to hit the ground. As she reached the coffin, the onlookers saw an amazing sight. The body gave a little wriggle, and suddenly the ghostly image of Bellatrix Lestrange was visible. The 13 year old angel of death reached out her hand, and Bellatrix took it. The two smiled at each other in recognition. Holding hands, the two walked to the end of the hall, before there was a flash of light, and they disappeared.

The audience was speechless. All except for Andromeda. She walked to the front of the congregation, and looked at them all.

"What you just saw," she began. "Is an angel of death. They come to uncertain spirits; those who have not kept promises or have things still left to do, and guide them to the afterlife..."

"But Bellatrix never broke promises," Lucius spoke out. He glared at his sister in law, as she looked sadly at him.

"She did." Then, Andromeda looked at Narcissa. "Forever." She said softly. Then, she left.

Andromeda threw herself off a cliff two hours later. As she awoke at the bottom of the steep, chalky cliff, she saw something. Two figures were standing by her. One was short, scruffy, and bore an incredible resemblance to Bellatrix. The other... was Bellatrix.

"Andromeda." The little girl spoke first; her voice was strange: not high nor low, not even human. It reminded Andromeda of a birds call mixed with the crashing of seas on the sand. It was odd. "Andromeda Aquila Tonks. You are dead. You committed suicide just now, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did." Andromeda's eyes yearned for Bellatrix, but the woman simply smiled sadly at her, and outstretched her hand. The angel grinned as they held hands for the first time since they were 14 years old.

"Come on." And the angel took their hands and they were gone.

FOREVER.


End file.
